Books published by publisher Cricket Books

Twelve-year-old Brendan Rodrick, his irrepressible twin, Nick, and their older sister, Ami, are struggling to cope with the sudden death of their father and their family's recent move to an isolated farm in Pennsylvania. Being city kids in the country is one problem, but Brendan listens with growing concern as Ami begins to talk about a unicorn hoofprint she sees in the woods. When Ami assumes the role of Maid Amelia and obsessively fantasizes about capturing the mythical beast, Brendan finds himself drawn into her imaginary world, almost against his will. Brendan knows that for his sister the unicorn quest helps fill the emptiness left by their father's death. But the fantasy is also serving as a refuge for him as he tries to define himself as something more than Nick's twin. The search for the unicorn comes to a head when Nick, Brendan, and Ami embark on a secret nighttime journey up a nearby mountain to spy on an elderly neighbor whom they call the Ogre. Will Ami, with Brendan's help, be able to capture the unicorn before the night is over?

The World of Oz is the complete collection of the fourteen full-length Oz books written by L. Frank Baum and published between 1900 and 1920. Even while he was alive, Baum was styled as "The Royal Historian of Oz" to emphasize the concept that Oz is an actual place. The illusion created was that characters such as Dorothy and Princess Ozma related their adventures in Oz to Baum themselves, by means of wireless telegraph.

Where do drums come from? From the god Ayan, the Yoruba tell us; from Skeleton Woman, the Inuit say; from the stolen voice of the nevilala bird, according to the slit drummers of Vanuatu. Recounting ten myths about drums and drummers from around the globe, storyteller and accomplished drummer Nina Jaffe shows readers both the universal power of drums and the richness of folk traditions. The author, playing with master drummers, provides the beat behind the story in a CD that comes with the book. Here’s a collection one can read — and listen to — again and again.

The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come is a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan and published in February, 1678. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print. Bunyan began his work while in the Bedfordshire county gaol for violations of the Conventicle Act, which prohibited the holding of religious services outside the auspices of the established Church of England. Early Bunyan scholars like John Brown believed The Pilgrim's Progress was begun in Bunyan's second shorter imprisonment for six months in 1675,[3] but more recent scholars like Roger Sharrock believe that it was begun during Bunyan's initial, more lengthy imprisonment from 1660-1672 right after he had written his spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.Source: Wikipedia

Robinson Crusoe was first published in 1719 and is sometimes considered to be the first novel in English. The book is a fictional autobiography of the title character-a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Venezuela, encountering Native Americans, captives, and mutineers before being rescued.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe

Assigned to write his autobiography, high school senior Rob Radkovitz instead creates an oral portrait of his life, centering on the search for his missing father. Lenny G. abandoned Rob’s mother when she was pregnant, leaving behind a tape of his last show as a DJ and a record of the sounds of his native Louisiana. Author Paul Fleischman -- winner of the Newbery Medal for Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices and a Newbery Honor for Graven Images -- uses Rob’s memories: his crusty grandfather, his adoring aunts, his mother’s Spanish soap operas, his grandmother’s racy mysteries read aloud, and especially and repeatedly his father’s lone tape to build a counterpoint of past and present, recorded and heard, that is an ever-unfolding, ever fascinating fugue. Determined to find his father, Rob acquires a series of increasingly sophisticated radios, searching obscure stations across the country for that missing voice. This powerful need to find the absent part of his life drives the story forward as Rob both imitates his father in becoming a radio personality and makes a final break in accepting the family he has.

It’s 1915, and Taf is fleeing an abusive home, terrified that she has accidentally killed her stepbrother. Her escape quickly becomes a quest as she sets out to find her long-missing father. Chance and scraps of memory guide her to Pendleton, Oregon. There she meets a boy who hides her, an old woman with second sight, and a beautiful half-Chinese, half–Nez Perce youth. She also faces hard choices: she can follow the inner voice that urges her onward or accept the love of those who care for her, at the price of her dreams. Illuminating the tensions of the period — the rise of the temperance movement, the intolerance shown foreigners — this lyrical, beautifully crafted novel speaks directly to contemporary teenagers balancing their yearnings against the pull of home and family.

Goodbyes were always hard, especially when it might be forever. The women on the station turned away with tears, images of their husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, and boyfriends disappearing through the smoke. Dorothy stood there alone, until every trace of smoke from the train engine had dissipated. She suddenly felt cold and alone. She finally turned and followed the other women down the metal steps, off the station and back to Edward Street. 1927. The poverty stricken streets of Neck End in England's industrial midlands, were a lonely and miserable place for a little girl. Abandoned by her mother, Dorothy clings to the memory of her father, who lives in the capital city. London seems an entire world away, as she hopes for the day when he might send for her and she can finally get out. Twelve years later, the country is plunged into war with Germany and Dorothy's world is thrown into chaos. Can she have a life in London with her father despite the dangers of war or will a chance encounter with a dashing soldier change her path for good? Torn between loyalty to her father and the possibility of love, Dorothy struggles with the greatest decision of her young life. A decision influenced by war and the love of two strong, yet vastly different, men.